Gangs Of Jharkhand [Maoism in India]

Falls in Ranchi, there are about fifty.

Flying over the ‘land of coal mines’ was quite an experience. The aerial view offered by my window seat was overwhelming and I must thank Jet Airways for the same. I won’t comment on the current state of airline services in India, but yes on this one occasion, I did thank the Wright brothers – whole heartedly.

I could see large chunks of greenery, big volumes of them lying around, separated modestly by beautiful mountains which appeared as if they had been be copy-pasted from some immensely talented painter’s masterpiece. The detailing and the overall collaboration of the green and the grey is something one can only wish to express in words. I’m sorry to say but the English language, and in fact any other language in the world, is not fully equipped when it comes to describing such marvels of nature.

When I first reached the city of Ranchi, I’ll have to say that I was deeply impressed. I was impressed by the ‘small town’ vibes accompanied by the well spread out greenery and fresh energizing air.  Coming from a noisy, polluted and squeezed New Delhi, I and the rest of us exchanged meaningful glances acknowledging the uniquely fresh and relaxing air that the city of Ranchi welcomed us with.

Soon after this I found myself in my Dad’s car and we were on our way to Siromtoli Chowk. Every turn that we took, and every red light that we bowed to presented Ranchi as a city one could only imagine in their dreams. Such calmness and such beauty - splendid. The roads were not filled with vehicles and the only sounds you could hear were of your own car’s engine or that of the stereo system. The streets were of the same width as the roads- quite narrow and lined with plants or trees. Travelling 25-30 km around Ranchi means you will be embraced by beautiful waterfalls and amazing landscapes. This is surely a tourist spot, but you won't see many around, enjoying the beauty.

Now the reason I have dedicated about fifteen lines to the description of Ranchi and outlying areas is because I want to draw a comparison between what we see through our naked eyes and what actually goes around in this state capital.  You must have come to terms with the natural beauty of Ranchi, but the same city, I’m sorry to say, has a face so ugly that one cannot or does not want to concur with.

For those of you who have already watched ‘Gangs Of Wasseypur’ , you are aware of the mining mafias and their accomplices. You have been informed about the killing instincts of the people of this area and have been introduced to the techniques of these people. You have a layman’s view of what happened and what is going on. And for those of you who haven’t watched the movie yet, STOP reading this article RIGHT NOW and rush to the nearest cinema hall or DVD store and feel blessed.

The actual operations of these mafias are a secret. A secret so big and so well hidden, that besides a few assumptions or conspiracy theories, one has no material whatsoever to develop a theory that translates into something close to what actually goes around. But what we have are pieces. And one can always try to join those pieces and come up with some sort of a picture.

Public buses are easy targets, killing innocents.

What goes around in Ranchi today is one of the most advanced forms of organized crime in the world. It is a setup beyond our imagination. We all hear things and we find them fascinating and then we completely forget about them. The formation of Jharkhand as a separate State brought new opportunities for everyone. This included the population, politicians, businessmen, industrialists and even the naxalites. The mafias discontinued their previous acts of terrorizing the general public 'directly' and entered into a contract with the state government. Today, one can say that both the state government and the troublemakers share a common map of the state of Jharkhand. The map’s sole purpose is to highlight the areas where the naxals and other troublemakers can continue their dance of death. The state government realizes that they cannot launch a campaign against these people and hence in order to stay in power the party entertains all sorts of requests from these people.

On a day of ‘Bandh’ in Ranchi, a Rajdhaani train is of vital importance. Why? Because railtracks are blown up only after important trains like Rajdhaani have passed. Why so? Because these trains carry businessmen and politicians important to the ruling party. The trucks carrying items belonging to the civilians are freely looted and items that are of no interest to the naxalites are burned or severely damaged. But trucks bringing materials or items of interest to the businessmen or the politicians are let go freely... untouched!

As a free citizen in Ranchi, you have to think twice about going out at night once the clock strikes 10 o ‘clock. Yes of course you can make the trip but at times people have to pay for it with their lives. See the problem is that you are not dealing with reasonable people. They are mindless freaks like any other group or political party has. And these mindless freaks trouble-making elements travel through the length and breadth of the country with no regard for the laws, morals or ethics laid down over the years and which we cherish day and night. How can a common man even think about standing up to such uncivilized walking dead bodies? The cops have a thumb pressing on them and hence they cannot do anything.

The current scenario is actually something which will continue for a long time. As long as the ruling party continues to entertain these trouble-making elements, they will always come up with ideas and methods to disrupt the overall growth and development of the state. What the current state government fails to see is the bigger picture. The ‘use-and-throw’ policy is ages old in politics and in crime lord and political party alliances. In the end, one has to suffer. But till that actually shapes up, the general masses suffer. The local MLAs and other prominent ‘social workers’ can be seen preparing the bed for Naxalite/Maoist leaders.

A gathering of the Maoists

The birth of Maoism in India is traced back to the 1967 split of the Communist Party of India. But the current form of CPI [Maoist] was first conceived in 2004. Put under the heading of ‘terrorists’ by the law, they like to call themselves ‘revolutionaries’. There were about 20,000 fighting units and about 50,000 units in India in 2006, as per RAW [Research and Analysis Wing]. The babysitting is done by China and this is a fact that only a fool would decide to object to. The Chinese have caused a lot of damage to several parts of India through their remote controlled CPI [Maoists]. While Mao actually destroyed China rather than creating or establishing it, the party members wish to see India as a country that will accept the Maoist political ideology and apply it. For this purpose to be fulfilled, the Maoists have decided to ‘uproot’ the current democratic system in India. And the only way to do that is by waging a war against the State. By killing innocents and blowing up rail tracks thereby disrupting the economy, they have caused enough problems and forced Manmohan Singh to declare the Maoists as the biggest internal threat to India.

Banned Flag Of The Maoists

With the ‘IAP – Integrated Action Plan’ [2009] turning out to be a successful one, one can hope for changes. The UPA government at the centre must be applauded for their efforts in containing and reducing Naxal hit areas. In 2009, about 180 districts were affected with this disease of Maoism. Latest figures, that of July 2011, put the number of districts affected at 83. This is an achievement everyone should be proud of. The idea of implementing Maoism in India is far-fetched. Feasibility and compatibility, both are nil. Whatever development issues had to be addressed are now being addressed. The IAP is not just a clean n sweep operation. It also includes actual development of these areas which turned out to be the breeding ground for the Maoists. The actual controllers of all the Maoist/Naxalite operations in India are believed to be hiding in some cave in China. Of course they are funded by the Chinese. One knows how keen the dragon is to see India crumble. However, it seems that the efforts have all gone in vain.

The dragon’s flight has been cut short. We have clipped its wings and are now working on controlling the fire it breathed out on us. If all goes well, an Indo-China war will be fought with India having no worries about it’s ‘internal threat’, whatsoever.  But then who wants a war? We want to live in harmony and there is absolutely no need for a war. But you see, the problem is that you don’t need a war...in fact a war gives birth to ‘needs’.